Automatic fire-extinguisher.



N0 MODEL.

PATENTED JULY 2l, 1'903.

G. E. HIBBARD.

AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

APPLIQATION FILED Nov. 25. 1901,

' 3 sums-SHEET 1.

IL; .Li l x l 5/ ih MII] l l d. f ik "h hu 50 O 5L iM96 l WIUESEEE-:uummlmllllllllll No. 733,962. PN'ENTEDJULY 21, 1903.

- G. E. HIBBARD.

AUTOMATIC FIRE EX'IINGrUISHERI APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25. 1901.

N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- WLUEEEEE- PATENTED JULY- 21 G. E. HIBBARD.vy AUTOMATIC PIRE EXTINGUISHER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25, 1901 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

N0 MODEL'.

UNITED STATES Patented July 21, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

AUTOMATIC FlR-EXTINGUISHER.-

SFECIFICATION forming' part 0f Letters Patent NO. 733,962, dated July'21, 1903.

Application filed November 25, 1901. Serial No. 83,589. (No models) To@ZZ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. HIBBARD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of- Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in AutomaticFire-Extinguishers, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to automatic fire-extinguishers of thestationary type in which there is a system of distributing-pipesextending over the area to be protected and provided at intervals withsprinkler-heads of some suitable type.v Some of these systems are knownas dry-pipe systems and others as Wet-pipe systems, while still othersmay be used either as wet-pipe or as dry-pipe systems.

The invention relates in part to the system as a whole; and the objectof this part of the invention is to provide a Valve device and an.

alarm device adapted for use in systems that may be used either wet ordry.

The invention relates in part also to the main valve device; and theobject of this part of the invention is to provide a valve device ofsuch construction that it will not be iniiuenced by a sudden reductionof the pressure in the main or other source ot' watersupply. This partof the invention relates more particularly to that class of valvesintended more especially fordry-pipe systems, an example oi' which isshown in United States Letters Patent No. 531,119, granted to meDecember 18, 1894.

The invention relates in part also to the construction of a cut-oit orvalve proper, adapted for use in that class of valve devices in whichtwo cut-offs or valves are connected bya rigid stem; and the Object ofthis part of the invention is to insure the proper seating of bothvalves. This object I accomplish by providing the valve with a yieldingpart carrying the seating-surface.

The invention relates in part also to an alarm device and the object ofthis part of the invention is to provide an alarm device which isadapted for use with either a drypipe or a wet-pipe system. This objectis accomplished by providing the system with what is herein calledaneXcess-pressure chamber, the interior of which is in communicationwith the system through the medium of a suitable passage in which is avalve oi' other movable device Vsuitably connected with an alarmmechanism, said movable device being of such construction that it willbe moved by the pressu re of the fluid (whether Wateror air) against itupon a reduction of the pressure in the distributing system and cause analarm to be given.

To these ends the invention consists in features of novelty that areherein described.

In the accompanying drawings, which are made a part of thisspecification, Figure 1 is a vertical section of an automaticiire-eXtinguisher embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectionof the main Valve on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of thealarm mechanism on the line 3 3, Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectionthereof on the line 4 4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section thereofon the line 5 5, Figs.- 3 and 4. Fig. 6 is a detail.

The main-valve casing is preferably made f up of three parts l, 2, and3. The part 8 is connected with the street main or other sources ofwater-supply through a branch 4, communicating with a chamber Y withinthe valve-casing, the inlet-port 5 being surrounded by a valve-seat 6.The part 1 of the valvecasing communicates with the riser of thedistributing system through an outlet-port 7. The lower portion of theriser is shown; but the balance of the system, includingsprinkler-heads, is omitted from the drawings, for the reason that itforms no part of the present invention and is well understood in theart. Within the casing is also a chamber X, which communicates with thechamber Y through an opening or port surrounded by a valveseatS.WithinthechamberYisathirdchamber Z, which communicates with the chamberY at the top through a port 45 and at the bottom through a port 29,formed through a spider 30. Communication between thechambers X and Y iscontrolled by a valve 15, which is carried by a swinging arm 9,fulcrumed at 10 and provided with a counterweight 11, arranged withinthe chamber X. At itsunder side the valve l5 bears upon the upper end ofa vertically-movable stem l2, carrying a valve 44, which controls theport 45. Communication between the bottom of the chamber Z and of thechamber Y is conf When the valve is set and the system is in normalcondition, the parts are in the positions shown in the drawings. Thepressure of the air within the system acts downward upon the valve 15,and this valve, through the medium of the stem 12, holds the valve 44seated. This confines the water in the chamber Z, and this chamber beingin normal communication with the water-supply through the passage in thevalve-stem 40 the water will exert a downward pressure upon the valve39, tending to hold it to its seat. This valve 39 is slightly larger inarea than is that portion of the valve 41 which is exposed to thepressure of the water in branch 4, so that by reason of the differentialthe valve 41 is held seated until the valve 39 is relieved ofwater-pressure. This takes place upon a reduction ot' the pressure inthe system to such a point that it is no longer effective in holding thevalve 44 seated. Upon the unseating of the valve 44 the water willescape from the chamber Z through the port 45, and the pressure beingthus'removed from the top side of the valve 39 the water acting upon thevalve 41 will unseat it.

It was discovered in actual practice that upon a sudden reduction of thepressure in the water-main a corresponding reduction would take place inchamber Z, with the result that valves 39 and 41 would be unseated,allowing water to pass through the port 5 into the chamber Y. In orderto prevent this, a check-valve 13 is arranged to control the passage 48,through which the chamber Z communicates with the inlet-port 5, so thatwhile said check-valve will respond to and be unseated by pressure fromthe water-main it will remain seated, so as to prevent the flow of waterfrom chamber Z back to the main, should the pressure against its underside be reduced. Preferably this check-valve has its seat upon the upperend of the stein 40 and is carried by arm 14, pivotally connected to thevalve 39.

The valve is made up of a heavy iiange 16, radiating from stern 40, ananu ular disk 17, screwed onto the upper end of stem 40, a ring 18,surroundingand located-in the same plane as disk 17, and a Hexiblediaphragm 19, connected to the disk 17 and to the ring 18 by somesuitable means. As shown in the drawings, the disk 17 is provided withan annular flange 20, which projects upward, and the diaphragm isprovided withacorrespouding flange 21, which is forced onto the llange20, said ange being permanently united by brazing or some other suitableprocess. The

outer margin of the' diaphragm is preferably connected to the ring 18 byscrews 22. 23 is a disk of Jenkins or other suitable packing material,clamped between the flange 16 and the disk 17 and extending outward, soas to underlie the ring 18 and have contact with the valve-seat 38. Asthus constructed the valve 39, or at least its inner or body portion,may follow the valve-stem 40 downward far enough to enable the valve 41to reach its seat, although its outer portion (the ring 18) maypreviously have come to its seat. The adjacent edges of the disk 17 andring 18 are preferably beveled in order to provide a slight space widerat the top than at the bot-tom for permitting the two parts to move outof plane relatively to each other.

The valve 15 is made up of parts constructed and arranged substantiallythe same as those going to make up the valve 39.

The excess-pressure tank 24 is connected with the pipe system ata pointabove the valve 15 by a passage 25, made up of suitable pipes andfittings. Preferably the passage 25 enters the excess-pressure tank atthe bottom, the top of the tank being connected by means of pipe 26 withthe air-pump 27. One ot the ittings of the passage 25 is in the form ofa valve-casing 28, within which is disposed a valve 31, carried by anarm 32,rigidly mounted upon a shaft 33,which isjournaled in thevalvecasing and passes out through a stuffing-box 34. The seat ot thecheck-valve 3l is formed on the lower end of a short valve-ring orcylinder 35, within which is arranged a piston 36, jointed to one end ofa link 37, the other end ot which is jointed to the check-valve 31. Thispiston is made up of two parts in the nature of concavo-convex diskswhich clamp between them a packing-ring 42, having a piston tit incylinder 35. The shaft 33 projects beyond the gland of the stuffing-box34 and into a box 43, containing a lever 46, the lower end of which issecured to the shaft 33 by means of a set-screw. This lever projectsupward from shaft 33 and carries a weight 47 so disposed that itpreponderates in the direction which tends to hold the valve seated. Theupper end of this lever when moved from -normal position is adapted toenter between a pair oli' metallic contact-plates 49 and 50, the nearone of which is broken away. These plates are normally insulated fromeach other, and with each of them is connected one side of an electriccircuit 51, which includes an alarm device and a suitable source ofelectricity.

Normally whether used in a dry-pipe or a wet-pipe system the partsoccupy the positions shown in the drawings. When used in a dry-pipesystem, in order to charge the system with compressed air the gate-valve(not shown in drawings) is closed and the parts are placed. as shown,with the exception that check-valve 31 is unseated and its accompanyingpiston 36 withdrawn from the cylinder 35. By means of the pump 27 thesys- ICO IZO

tem is then charged with compressed air until the desired pressure isreached, the pressure being shown on gagein pipe 26. The piston 36 isthen replaced in thecylinder 35 and the valve 31 reseated, this beingdone by the application of a suitable key to the non-circular extremityon. shaft 33. The gate-valve is then opened, and the system is ready foruse. Uponthe reduction of the pressure in the system, due either toleakage or to the ring of the sprinkler-head, the pressure upon oppositesides of the check-valve 3l will become unequal with the excess aboveit. This excess pressure will open it, and this in turn will move thelever 46 into the space between the contact -plates 49 and 50, andthereby close the circuit, causing an alarm to be sounded. Vhen thelever 46 is once moved far enough to shift the center of gravity of-weight 47 past the vertical line on shaft 33, the weight will hold thelever in position to close the circuit, so that the alarm will soundcontinuously until the device is reset manually. Vhen used in a wetsystem with the parts in the initial positions above described, thegate-valve is opened and allowed to remain open. The water then entersand iills the system until the pressure within the system equals that inthe main. The force of the entering water will lift the valve 41 andhold it unseated until the pressure above and below it becomes equal,whereupon it will reseat by gravity. The air-pump is then set inoperation and air pumped into the excesspressure tank until the desiredpressure within it and within the system is reached. The valve 3l isthen set, as above described, and the system is ready for use.

The advantage in using the piston 36 in addition to the check-valve 3lis that even with a slow reduction of pressure in the system the alarmwill inevitably be sounded when the predetermined low pressure isreached, whereas if the check-valve alone were used it might under aslow reduction unseat far enough to compensate for this slow reductionwithout causing an alarm to be sounded, and in this way allow thepressure within the system to become reduced to the ineffectual point.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newtherein and desire to secure by Letters Patent: 1

l. In an automatic fire-extinguisher, the combination with avalve-chamber having an opening for the outlet of water, of a valvecontrolling said opening, a passage connecting the chamber with awater-supply, and a check-valve sea ting outward from said chamber forcontrolling said passage, whereby water is permitted to enter thechamber in order to maintain normal pressure therein and is preventedfrom leaving the chamber upon a reduction of the supply-pressure,substantially as described.

2. In an automatic fire-extinguisher, the

combination with a valve-chamber having an opening for the outlet ofwater, of a valveseat surrounding said opening, an outwardseating valvefor controlling said opening, a stem carrying said valve and havingthrough it a passage through which the chamber communicates with thewater-supply, and a checkvalve seating outward from the chamber forcontrolling said passage whereby water is permitted to enter the chamberand prevented from leaving the chamber upon a reduction of thesupply-pressure, substantially as described. i

3. In an automatic fire-extinguisher, the combination with avalve-chamber having an opening for the outlet of water, of a valve forcont-rolling said opening, a passage through which the interior of thechamber is in normal communication with awater-supply, and anoutward-seating check-valve carried by the valve lirst aforesaid andadapted to close said passage and thereby prevent the backward flow ofwater from the chamber, substantially as described.

4. In an automatic ure-extinguisher, the combination with avalve-chamber having an opening for the outlet of water and awatersupply, of diiterential valves for controlling said outlet andwater-supply, a stem connecting said valves, a passage through saidstein normally connecting the interior of the chamber with thewater-supply, and an outwardseating check-valve for controlling saidpassage, substantially as described.

5. In an automatic fire-extinguisher the combination of a casing havingan inlet for water, a chamber into which said inlet opens, a valve forcontrolling said inlet, a second chamber having an outlet for water intothe chamber iirst aforesaid, a second valve for controlling said outlet,a hollow stem connecting said valves, and a check-valvefor controllingthe passage through the said hollow stem, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a valve-casing having a port and a valve-seatsurrounding said port, of a valve having a stem, a flange carried bysaid stem, a disk secured to the stem, a ring surrounding the disk, apacking IIO clamped between the flan ge and disk and projecting beneaththe ring and a iiexible diaphragm connecting the disk and ring,substantially as described.

'7. In an automatic tire-extinguisher the combination with the pipesystem, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them, amovable device located in said passage, an alarm device, and means forconnecting the said movable device with the alarm device, substantiallyas described.

8. In an automatic lire-extinguisher the combination with the pipesystem, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting it with thepipe system, a movable device l0- cated in said passage, an alarmdevice, means connecting said movable device with the IZO l alarm deviceand means for producing pressure Within the excess-pressure chamber,substantially as described.l

9. In an automatic lire-extinguisher the combination with the pipesystem, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting the saidchamber with the pipe system, a valve located in the said passage andseating toward the excess-pressure chamber, an alarm device, and meansconnecting said Valve -With the alarm device, substantially asdescribed.

10. In an automatic fire-extinguisher the combination with the pipesystem, of an eX- cess-pressure chamber, apassage connecting it With thepipe system, a movable device located in the said passage, an alarmdevice, means for connecting the two devices last aforesaid, a pump, anda connection between the said pump and the excess-pressure chamber,substantially as described.

11. In an automatic fire-extinguisher the combination With the pipesystem, of an eX- cess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them, amovable device located in the said passage, means including a Weight forholding said device in a normal position, an alarm device, and means forconditioning the alarm to operate When the Weight is shifted,substantially as described.

l2. In an automatic fire-extinguisher the combination with the pipesystem, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them, amovable device located in the said passage, a shaft carrying the saiddevice, an arm carried by the shaft, and an electrical alarm devicehaving normally opened con- .tacts adapted to be closed by the said armwhen shifted, substantially as described.

13. In an automatic lire-extinguisher the combination with the pipesystem, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them, avalve located in the said passage, a shaft carrying the valve, an armcarried by the said shaft and adapted to close an electrical circuit,and an electrical alarm device having contact-plates, 49 and 50, adaptedto receive the said arm between them, substantially as described.

14. In an automatic lire-extinguisher the combination with the pipesystem, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them, apiston located in the said passage, an alarm device, and meansconnecting the piston with the alarm device, substantially as described.

15. In an automatic fire-extinguisher the combination With the pipesystem, of an eX- cess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them andincluding a cylinder, 35, a piston ittingin the said cylinder, a shaft,means connecting the piston with the shaft, an alarm device, and meansconnecting the shaft with the alarm device, substantially as described.

16. In an automatic lire-extinguisher the combination with the pipesystem, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them andincluding a cylinder, 35, a piston located within the said cylinder, acheck-valve adapted to seat against the end of the said cylinder, meansconnecting the piston and check-valve, anl alarm device, and meansconnecting the check-valve and the alarm device, substantially asdescribed.

17. In an automatic lire-extinguisher the combination With the pipesystem, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them andincluding the cylinder, 35, a piston located in the said cylinder, acheck-valve adapted to seat against the end of the cylinder, a linkpivoted to the pist-on and check- Valve and connecting them, an alarmdevice, and means for connecting the check-valve with the alarm device,substantially as described.

GEORGE E. I'IIBBARD.

Witnesses:

L. M. HOPKINS, E. D. WATTS.

